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Monthly Archives: April 2009

I’ve heard a couple of friends and family swear by Natura Rescue Remedy, “for Shock, Anxiety & Sleeplessness”. So I thought I’d do a bit of research. Here’s what I found:

Firstly, let’s have a look at the ingredients listed on the Natura website. (The ingredients don’t actually matter, but more about that later.)

Ambra grisea D6

Banisteropsis caapi Spag D60

Clematis vitalba (Clematis) aqua inf.

Helianthemum nummularium (Rock Rose) aqua inf.

Impatiens glandulifera (Impatiens) aqua inf.

Melissa officinalis Spag D3

Moschus moschiferus D6

Ornithogalum umbellatum (Star of Bethlehem) aqua inf.

Prunus cerasifera (Cherry Plum) aqua inf.

Let’s look at each of these in turn:

Ingredient

Natura Says

In reality

Ambra Grisea

supports the functioning of the nervous system to treat anxiety, fear, hypersensitivity, shyness and numbness of the body.

biliary secretion of the intestines of the sperm whale … was used as a fixative in perfumery

Banisteriopsis caapi

helps calm extreme nervous hypersensitivity

Hallucinogenic used by native American tribes and some religious sects. Entheogenic.

Clematis

is a flower essence indicated for inability to focus on reality and the present and is useful in the treatment of shock.

Essentially toxic. Causes internal bleeding of the digestive track. Despite its toxicity, it was used by Native Americans in small amounts to treat migraines.

Rock Rose

is the flower essence that relieves extreme fear and a feeling of panic

This is a good nectar source for bees

Impatiens glandulifera

acts on the nervous system to relieve irritability, restlessness, hyperactivity and impatience

When crushed has a strong musky odour.

Melissa Officinalis

has a carminative and sedative action to help induce restful sleep, prevent insomnia, soothe irritability and help cope with stress and tension.

Wikipedia actually notes one study that did find it “may” relieve stress, though even the authors of this study state that further research is needed to confirm it.

Don’t expect much from this as Natura dilutes this ingredient 1000 times before adding it in with the mix of other ingredients.

Moschus moschiferus

acts on the central nervous system to relieve fainting, shock, anxiety and fear

Siberian Musk Deer. Hunted for its musk gland (believed to have aphrodisiac qualities). Classified as a threatened species by CITES.

Now Natura is helping to kill endanged animals!

Star of Bethlehem

is the principle flower essence specifically indicated for shock

Wikipedia says: “The plant is toxic.”

Cherry Plum

is a flower essence that acts on the nervous system to treat anxiety and fear

Wikipedia says: “excellent for jam making”

Hopefully by now you’ve figured out that Natura is trying to fool people and relieve them of their money, rather than their anxiety. Firstly, not a single one of the ingredients has been proven to have any of the effects Natura proclaims. Furthermore, the ingredients are so dilute that they wouldn’t have any effect in any case.

If you thought that you’d at least get a little bit high from Banisteriopsis caapi as the Native Americans did, think again. It is diluted 1×10^60 times before it’s added. This means that there is 1 part of this in every 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 parts of water. That’s a pretty big number. Let me try put this another way: It will take 2 billion doses, per second, to 6 billion people, for 4 billion years, to deliver a single molecule to any one patient.

I.e. you haven’t a snowball’s chance in midsummer to get any effect from Banisteriopsis Caapi.

And that ain’t the end of it! Hold on to your chair for this one:

According to homeopathy principles, the more dilute the solution, the stronger the effects! I kid you not.

Now, I know some of you reading this are saying: “But I’ve tried homeopathy and it works for me!”. And this may well be true, because of the Placebo Effect, and it has indeed been scientifically proven that Placebos do help with symptomatic relief.

Please share this article with your friends and family. Even if Rescue might have no effects on your body, the long-term effect on the environment from manufacturing and distribution of these remedies is highly destructive.